apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Can someone explain these prices? How does it usually break down? It just seems so high to me...

Figure at least $12K for the bathroom (new walls, floors, tiling, elect. fixtures, commode, sink, bath, towel racks, traps and faucets...+ plumbing and electrical trades).

A barebones kitchen gut with new appliances, and the above will be at least $18K and up. I don't see how you can contract for less than $30K for both?

BTW, I don't know about the condition of your building, but in my 1922 historic hi-rise we can't have garbage disposals OR dishwashers until the entire building's plumbing is upgraded.

I answered 40-50 based on 20k for the bathroom and 30k for the kitchen. That should get you upper- but not top-end fixtures and appliances and decent cabinets, not custom-built. That's based on gut-renovations I did on a kitchen and bath in a Brooklyn brownstone.

One issue this buyer must consider is whether the plumbing will support a washer. In our case, when our building converted to co-op, they installed a 3 inch stack which our plumber deemed barely sufficient for all of the kitchens on it, and insufficient to add a washing machine to. In fact, our neighbors below installed a garbage disposal and had to stop using is because it caused backups into the dishwasher on the floor below.

You don't mention the size of the building, but a lot of older co-ops in NYC don't approve individual washer/dryer installation due to inadequate building plumbing.

I did this last year for about 40k. It roughly broke down like this:

Contractor/plumbing/electric for everything not itemized below$12k
Kitchen:
Ikea cabinets/installed by traemand $3500
Appliances (nice, some high end) $5500
Countertops $1700
Bath:
Demo to studs
All new fixtures/cabinetry/lighting $7000
Tile (I went nuts, much more affordable options available) $5000
Subletting while renovating (highly recommend!) 3 mo/$6000

I wonder how much of this is for labor and how much is for materials. I'm not Bob Vila, but I don't think laying tiles is rocket science...

Hanley-Wood does an annual survey of costs for typical residential remodeling projects. I couldn't find their summary, but did find this article online:
http://www.remodeling.hw.net/industry-news.asp?sectionID=150&articleID=403331

good luck!

We did almost the same thing to our 1-br apartment in Jackson Heights this past year and it was about $25,000.

If you are a designer or have a designer friend who can buy all the tile, appliances and plumbing fixtures for you at a discount, you'll be able to save a significant amount of money. We lived in the apartment the entire time. My wife did not like that one bit.

Most condos and co-ops do not allow washer/dryers if there isn't one already. Something about the suds backing up in the plumbing risers.

I had three contractors quote me $18-23K for one SMALL bathroom depending on materails; I did 2 and a powderroom for $43K -- and they are nothing fancy.

Bathroom $54,900

-Kohler tub, pedestal sink, toilet: $1400
-Tile: $1100
-Radiant heat floor mats: $400
-Supplies: $2000
-Labor to gut to studs, sheetrock, install heat mats, tile, install fixtures, do plumbing, etc., etc.: Free, because done by me
-Back surgery to repair disk ruptured while lifting bag of grout, 4 months' lost work time (self-employed, so no sick leave), 2 years of physical therapy: $50,000

Kitchen (done after bathroom): $23,000

-Cabinets and installation by Home Depot: $16,000
-Appliances and installation by appliance store: $5000
-Flooring and installation by flooring store: $800
-Labor provided by contractor: $1200

Fill in the blank: ______: Priceless.

Whoops! Dangit, MGR, can't we do something about this? The "in an effort to curb malicious comments" message keeps showing up and prompting us to reenter the numbers, and unbeknownst to us we double post. Sorry, everyone.

More than half of cost are for labor. You can't just caluculate materials. Also a lesson I leaned was never think contractors read your mind. You have to be very specific about how you want. Good luck!

I'am A Real Contractor in NY. I can give you A real estimate if you would like look at my site give me A call.

http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=35573925

Thank You
Michael @ Lino's Home Improvement

I agree with Robyn.

The cost of your kitchen and bath renovations depends heavily upon the cabinetry, design, materials, demolition, and construction. Contrary to what you may have heard from HGTV, magazines and other media, a competent renovation of these spaces is simply not a case of going to Home Depot and buying some cabinets, porcelain and appliances and having your space transformed in two days.

Kitchen and bath components are produced in a multitude of styles and quality levels. Invest your time in thorough research of the various options available, visit several kitchen showrooms, meet with designers and get their ideas. Don't be afraid to visit a high-end showroom, some of the most innovative solutions can be found there, which you can likely reproduce with lower cost components. If you fall in love with something only available there, you might be able to get it for dramatically less at their floor sample sale. Research your appliances just as thoroughly.

The worst outcome is one in which you spend a lot of money on a new kitchen or bath, then discover later that for the same money you could have had a much better space.

Your budget could be anywhere in the ranges provided depending on the materials and finishes you choose. My advice is to do your homework and come up with a list (with as many accompanying catalog pictures or magazine inspirations as you can find) of (A) What you really need (B) What you really want. Somewhere in between is what you will do, but once you develop a clear idea of your scope, you can decide where to splurge & where to cut corners. Good luck & take lots of pictures so we can see how it turns out.